Air Force Academy quarterback Jaleel Awini runs through drills on the first day of practice Thursday, August 1, 2013. Photo by Mark Reis, The Gazette

Troy Calhoun confirmed Monday that Kale Pearson suffered an injury to the ACL in his right knee.

Beyond that, the Air Force coach was vague on details on his junior quarterback's injury.

"He's going to be out for some time," Calhoun said. "He will not play this week and it could be a while."

Several players mentioned praying for Pearson and expressed sorrow over his situation, which implied that the injury will keep Pearson sidelined for the remainder of the season. He went down in the second quarter in Saturday's 38-13 victory over Colgate.

Air Force moved forward Monday with Jaleel Awini taking snaps with the first team and fellow sophomore Karson Roberts with the second team. Awini saw his first game action last week after replacing Pearson. Roberts saw a few snaps late in the blowout win. Neither Awini nor Roberts were available to the media after Monday's practice, though Awini is schedule to speak Tuesday.

Unlike Awini, who spent a year at the prep school, Roberts is only about 14 months removed from his time at Clear Lake High School in Houston. He is 6-foot, 180 pounds and has looked like a slippery runner in scrimmages.

"He's got to make sure he's prepared," Calhoun said. "That's one thing that's part of football. It's not a worn out clich? I mean, next snap somebody better be ready to go. That's anybody. You always better be sharp."

Receiver Ty MacArthur said he doesn't anticipate much of an adjustment to the offense, saying he expects the team to pick up where it left off in implementing a versatile approach in terms of running and passing. The running back crew, however, would be fine if the attack relied heavily on the ground game.

That would certainly be the safer route, considering the Falcons piled up more than 400 rushing yards in the opener, with Jon Lee (130 yards), Broam Hart (101 yards), Anthony LaCoste (77 yards) and Devin Rushing (41 yards) each setting career highs for rushing yards.

"We love to carry the ball and carry the team," LaCoste said. "We like to say the team goes as we go."

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